Record growth over the last year pushed the UK green goods and services market past the £122bn mark, according to new government figures that reveal the low carbon economy now employs almost one million people.

The sector grew 4.7 per cent against the 2009/10 figure of £116.8bn, providing an additional £5.4bn of economic activity as green industries continued to defy the sluggish progress made by the rest of the economy.

The United Nations chief, Ban Ki-moon, held out little hope on Thursday of an historic outcome at the Rio global development summit, now less than a month away, admitting negotiations had been "painfully slow".

The warning was the latest from United Nations officials and others involved in preparations that the summit, known as Rio+20, is unlikely to replicate the breakthrough achievements of the original environmental gathering in the city in 1992.

Germany has asked for discussion on deeper EU carbon emissions cuts to be put on the agenda at a meeting of environment ministers in June, EU sources said.

If agreed, a more ambitious target could help to spur the European Union's carbon market, which has sunk to record lows.

Previous debate of bigger carbon cuts, however, has been difficult, with coal-reliant Poland objecting that they could damage its economy.

The US government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), announced an initial obligation of $9 million to support the Bangladesh Climate Cha-nge Resilience Fund.
The total US grant to the fund is $13 million over four years, as announced by US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, during her recent visit to Bangladesh.
The announcement, made at the Ministry of Environment and Forests today, marks the second grant agreement between USAID and the World Bank in Bangladesh that pools US funds with those of other development partners.

Germany has asked for discussion on deeper EU carbon emissions cuts to be put on the agenda at a meeting of environment ministers in June, EU sources said.

If agreed, a more ambitious target could help to spur the European Union's carbon market, which has sunk to record lows.

Previous debate of bigger carbon cuts, however, has been difficult, with coal-reliant Poland objecting that they could damage its economy.

Britain's drive to create a low-carbon economy is stalling, because the government is too reliant on voluntary action and the Treasury appears to regard the environment as an obstacle to economic growth, a parliamentary group warned on Monday.

Without a clear policy, Britain is unlikely to attract the billions of pounds of investment needed to develop cleaner energy sources and reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels, the Environmental Audit Committee, a cross-party group of Members of Parliament, said.